“Stop looking at me like that, Butterfly. This is relaxation time, nothing more.”
Her eyebrows rose, and she smirked. “I didn’t ask for relaxation time.”
Grinning, I inhaled the lavender-scented steam that quickly became saturated with the scent of our desire. Her words were doing nothing to help keep my libido in check, especially when all my blood flowed south. But I meant it when I said this was about her relaxing. I hadn’t missed the fine tremor in her hands as she ate or the coolness to her fingers as I held her hand. Therewas no alcohol in the cottage, but I had a feeling I knew how she’d want to distract herself from any dark thoughts haunting her or the cravings she still had every now and then.
Normally, I’d be more than happy to be her coping mechanism, but I knew that her demons were brought on by exhaustion, and it had been a long and emotional day. She needed to rest. I just had to make sure she felt safe enough to relax.
Once Shannon was resting, I’d contact Connor about Ava and get an update on my brothers and the vampire war. I wanted to see if Drake and Charlie had discovered anything about the technology in the communications hub. The sense of being watched from earlier hadn’t dissipated, and there was no way I’d settle tonight unless I checked outside the cottage. I hadn’t felt anyone nearby earlier, but just like at the dell, my wolf and my instincts were unsettled, as if danger was near, yet I couldn’t pinpoint it. My brows dipped a little as I watched tiny lavender flowers swirl in the water under my hand. I should check in with Ventry, too, to ensure nothing was happening in Faery that I needed to know about.
Despite all that was going on in my head, I couldn’t stop myself from straightening and touching my mate, especially when she looked at me with lust-darkened eyes that were so damned sexy. My height made it so I towered over her, and all I wanted was to get on my knees and worship her body again. The noises she’d made as I’d done just that were on repeat in my head, and I’d do almost anything to hear them again. But… It was a miracle I kept my fingers steady when, taking a deep breath and exhaling, I slowly unbuttoned her shirt.
Her gaze bounced between my face and my torso, where she took advantage of my closeness and ran her hands over my biceps and shoulders, her expression one of awe and desire as her gaze followed the path of her hands like she couldn’t quitebelieve she could freely touch me. My ego loved that look on her, but it was nothing to the way my heart thudded and my whole being ached as she explored my body with that same hungry look. Fuck, I never wanted her to stop, but the need to make sure she was cared for wasn’t one I could ignore.
It took more self-control than I thought I possessed to gently remove her hands from me. Leaning in, I took her mouth in a soft kiss, trying to express every bit of the feelings swirling inside me. My chest was heavy with emotions that I couldn’t vocalise yet, not to myself, and I sure as shit couldn’t name them to Shannon. This was all too new—for both of us. “No sex, Butterfly. You need to relax. Now, get in the tub.”
Her bottom lip stuck out. Well, that was new—and cute. I grinned. Cute wasn’t a word I’d ever thought of in the context of Shannon, but there was no denying it, even though part of me wondered if it was a little bit of manipulation. Her hands came back up, and she ran her fingers over my pecs, tracing a nail over my nipples.
“But I want to play.”
I leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Oh, I didn’t say I wasn’t going to play. But you need to relax, and I know exactly how to get you to do that.” Changing my tone of voice was as easy as breathing. “Now. Get in the tub.”
She blinked, then swallowed. I waited silently to see if she’d give in to her nature. And there it was—her pupils dilated, a sure sign she liked taking direction from me. Without further argument, she dropped my shirt from her body and stepped into the sweet-smelling water. She leaned back, her head resting on the end of the metal tub, her eyes closing with a sigh.
“Good girl,” I praised. Her breath hitched, and her eyes flew open, her attention snagging on the tell-tale bulge in my trousers before looking up into my face.
“Well, I can see you enjoy saying it, but why do I like it so much—you know, when you say ‘good girl’?”
I smiled and slid a hand around her throat, lightly stroking the skin under her ear with my thumb. It was the spot where my mating mark would go—eventually. I swallowed hard, but my voice was still gruff when I spoke.
“Because, my fierce Huntress, you’ve been starved of praise when underneath all that Alpha snark and bullshit that you are so good at, your wolf is an Omega. I wasn’t sure before, but I am now. If you let yourself trust me, you’ll thrive on being loved and cared for. And so will she. My wolf is as impatient to show her how well-matched they are as I am to show you.”
Her eyes widened, her gaze locking with mine. “Really?” She bit her lip, her brow furrowed. That thoughtful look stayed there for a few seconds before a bright smile graced her face. My heart jumped at that beautiful sight. Mother, she was so damned gorgeous. And that smile? Fuck, I’d do anything to see it all day, every damned day.
“Very much so.” I ran my thumb over her full and inviting bottom lip. Part of me was disappointed she’d not called me out on my slip-up by saying I wanted to love her, but the part of me that wanted to protect my heart from her potential rejection was relieved. I wasn’t there yet, and neither was Shannon. “That’s why you respond so well to my...instruction.”
Her smile stretched to a grin, and a playful light danced in her eyes. “Your alphaholeness, you mean?”
I grinned at what was clearly her favourite description of the overbearing, overprotective, and arrogant side of my nature. Not just my wolf—but my Fae side, too. “I suppose I do, but remember, even with all myalphaholeness, as you call it, that protective side of my nature will always be there. I will never command you to do anything that would hurt you.”
She chuckled and flicked a bit of water in my face. “Good, because I’ll hurt you right back if you do.”
Droplets of water tracked down my face, tickling my skin, but I ignored them. What I couldn’t ignore was how the challenge in her voice affected me, heating my blood. “I know you will. I’d be disappointed if you didn’t. But you’ve spent so long denying who you are that I think you’ll be happier if you let yourself react however you want when we’re alone. I’ll never judge you and certainly never take advantage of you. The way you suffered at the hands of your father and the fuckers he called his friends was because he knew your wolf was an Omega, and he exploited it. I will never do that.”
She blinked, her eyes softening, and raised a hand to my face. “I know.”
It was strange to see a softer side to Shannon, but I couldn’t deny I loved each and every facet of her personality. Leaning in, I captured her mouth with mine, my hands cupping her face and holding her in place so I could control the depth and speed of our kiss. We both groaned when I pulled away. “I mean it, you’re tired. We have plenty of time to explore this need between us. And I’ll let you use me to distract yourself from your dark thoughts at any other time, except when they are in here…” I ran my other hand through her hair. “...because you’re tired.”
“Mother Wolf, Stoney-boy, are you really going to leave me all needy and shit because I'm tired?”
I grinned. There was the fire I always associated with Shannon. “Oh, I already said I wouldn’t, I just said we aren’t going to fuck. Now put your hands on the sides of the tub and don’t move them.”
She did, gripping on hard, her gaze only leaving mine when pleasure got the better of her, and her eyes fluttered closed. Ignoring my own hardness, I stole deep, sensual kisses, swallowing all the little moans and noises that drove me wildwhile I teased with my magic and my fingers until my Butterfly cried out her climax.
Chapter 19
Shannon
I could hear Stone's deep voice as he talked to someone. I didn’t know who, and whereas usually I’d be clamouring to find out, it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. Stone was right. As I ate, my father’s voice started to infiltrate my thoughts. Images of the night his cruel ‘colleague’ had raped me flashed through my mind like a macabre horror film. It was hard to say that word and admit that’s what had happened to me. It was hard to swallow past the ache in my throat, so I screwed my eyes tightly closed. All those times, over so many years. I guess I’d tried to make the mental pain, the helplessness, the feelingdirtyless in my mind and buried my disgust and shame so deep I didn’t have to acknowledge anything about that time in my life.
